Expat wanderer

Hair fall, allergies: Blame them all on desalinated water
Web posted at: 12/5/2009 2:13:32Source ::: The Peninsula
By MOBIN PANDIT

DOHA: Have you ever wondered why being in this part of the world for a while some people, including those who are quite young, complain of hair loss and problems of dry skin, allergies and rashes.

Experts attribute all these malaise to the hardness of water which is desalinated. Desalinated water is good for use and even potable but the only problem is that its PPM (particles per million) multiplies when it is channeled for distribution through the pipelines.

PPM refers to Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) present in water. The more the TDS the harder is the water. Seawater which is the hardest and saline, has 10,000 PPM, for instance, while the normal treated water has PPM between 40 and 50.

TDS refers to different types of minerals present in water such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate and sodium, to name a few. Experts say over-presence of these minerals in potable water is not desirable as it can lead to problems like kidney stones.

Their over-presence in the water used for other purposes can lead to other problems like skin allergies, rashes and hair fall, say experts.

While the normal treated water for drinking and other uses in countries outside of the GCC region has 40 to 50 PPM, which is described ideal for drinking and other uses, the PPM of desalinated water in this part of the world is usually between 100 and 150.

Questions are often raised about the PPM of some local bottled water brands and experts swear they are also not up to
the mark.

Affluent families here use imported potable water and half-a-litre of a bottle can cost up to a whopping QR25, if sources in the water industry are to be believed.

According to them, there is a general misconception that bottled water is better than tap water. “The tap water which we get in Doha is, in fact, better,” said a source, adding that their PPM is almost the same.

The tap water is clean and pure and its PPM is much lower when produced, but it increases when channeled into the pipelines for distribution.

“In fact, in the GCC the cleanest desalinated water we get is in Qatar,” said the source.

There is another misconception that the tap water here can be boiled and made potable. Water, say experts, is boiled to kill bacteria, germs and virus, and not to reduce PPM.

“There are hardly any microbiological impurities in the desalinated water in Qatar, so boiling tap water doesn’t help. The pipelines here are cleaner as compared to other countries and it is where water gets its impurities from,” said Sunil Goykar, from the water treatment division of Qatar Oilfield Supply Centre, in remarks to The Peninsula.

He claimed that devices are, however, available locally to treat the tap water here and reduce its PPM for drinking as well as for other uses.

(Dec. 5) — A video showing hundreds of dancing hospital employees wearing pink gloves in support of breast cancer awareness has become an Internet sensation.
The video, put together over two days with the help of 200 employees at a Portland, Oregon hospital, has more than 3 million hits and thousands of comments on YouTube.

Martie Moore, nursing manager at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, told CNN the hospital has received hundreds of calls, e-mails and notes about the video.

The idea for the video came from Medline Industries Inc., the company that makes the pink gloves. The company said it would donate a portion of its glove sales to fund mammograms for women who would struggle to pay for them, ABC News reported.

The employees dance to “Down” by singer Jay Sean. Moore said many of the employees had been personally affected by breast cancer.

The janitor who closes out the video with a solo performance had a mother who battled with breast cancer. Moore said he told her, “This is just a disease that just keeps touching lives.”